World in Focus

February 9, 2013 8:25 PM

Photo: Rajesh Kumar Singh/Associated Press

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A performer spits fire during a carnival celebration in Madrid, Spain, Saturday, Feb. 9, 2013. The carnival, which takes place across Spain just before Lent, is believed to owe its origins to pagan festivals.

A performer spits fire during a carnival celebration in Madrid, Spain, Saturday, Feb. 9, 2013. The carnival, which takes place across Spain just before Lent, is believed to owe its origins to pagan festivals.

Photo: Andres Kudacki, Associated Press

A performer spits fire during a carnival celebration in Madrid,... Photo-4167811.56544 - seattlepi.com

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A worker changes the lights bulbs in lanterns ahead of Chinese New Year celebrations at the Thean Hou Temple in Kuala Lumpur on February 9, 2013. Chinese New Year which is also known as Lunar Year falls on February 10. less

A worker changes the lights bulbs in lanterns ahead of Chinese New Year celebrations at the Thean Hou Temple in Kuala Lumpur on February 9, 2013. Chinese New Year which is also known as Lunar Year falls on ... more

A couple dressed as clowns participate in the "Cordao da Bola Preta" street carnival parade in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, Feb. 9, 2013. According to Rio's tourism office, Rio's street Carnival this year will consist of 492 block parties, attended by an estimated five million Carnival enthusiasts. less

A couple dressed as clowns participate in the "Cordao da Bola Preta" street carnival parade in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, Feb. 9, 2013. According to Rio's tourism office, Rio's street Carnival this year ... more

Revelers take part in the 'Cordao do Bola Preta' traditional carnival band parade along Rio Branco avenue, in downtown Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on February 9, 2013. Carnival was under way in Rio on Saturday with millions set to take to the streets for days of rowdy, joyous parades and festivities, bringing the nation to a halt for its annual wild party. Nearly 800,000 Brazilian and foreign tourists were expected join Rio's six million residents in the celebrations, whose climax comes on Sunday and Monday with the city's top samba schools putting on their extravagant processions led by sexy dancing queens. less

Revelers take part in the 'Cordao do Bola Preta' traditional carnival band parade along Rio Branco avenue, in downtown Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on February 9, 2013. Carnival was under way in Rio on Saturday with ... more

Photo: Vanderlei Almeida, AFP/Getty Images

Revelers take part in the 'Cordao do Bola Preta'... Photo-4167818.56544 - seattlepi.com

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Sandra Miseikyte competes in the women's shot put final during day one of the British Athletics European Trials & UK Championship at the English Institute of Sport on February 9, 2013 in Sheffield, England.

Sandra Miseikyte competes in the women's shot put final during day one of the British Athletics European Trials & UK Championship at the English Institute of Sport on February 9, 2013 in Sheffield, England.

Worshipers arrive for prayers at the Askia mausoleum's mosque, built in 1495 in Gao, northern Mali, Saturday Feb. 9, 2013. On Friday, a suicide bomber on a motorcycle killed himself attempting to blow up an army checkpoint, the first time a suicide bomber operated in Mali. less

Worshipers arrive for prayers at the Askia mausoleum's mosque, built in 1495 in Gao, northern Mali, Saturday Feb. 9, 2013. On Friday, a suicide bomber on a motorcycle killed himself attempting to blow up an ... more

Thousands of Indian Hindu devotees walk across a pontoon bridge at Sangam, before bathing at the confluence of the Rivers Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati, during Maha Kumbh festival, in Allahabad, India, Saturday, Feb. 9, 2013. Millions of Hindu pilgrims are attending the Maha Kumbh festival, and over 25 million are expect to take a holy dip at Sangam on Sunday, Feb. 10, on the greatly auspicious occasion of "Mauni Amavasya." less

Thousands of Indian Hindu devotees walk across a pontoon bridge at Sangam, before bathing at the confluence of the Rivers Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati, during Maha Kumbh festival, in Allahabad, India, ... more

Worshipers place incense sticks as they pray before midnight to welcome in Chinese Lunar New Year at the Wong Tai Sin Temple in Hong Kong on February 9, 2013. Chinese lunar new year, celebrated by Chinese communities the world over, falls on February 10 with the beginning of the new moon. less

Worshipers place incense sticks as they pray before midnight to welcome in Chinese Lunar New Year at the Wong Tai Sin Temple in Hong Kong on February 9, 2013. Chinese lunar new year, celebrated by Chinese ... more

Photo: Antony Dickson, AFP/Getty Images

Worshipers place incense sticks as they pray before midnight to... Photo-4167827.56544 - seattlepi.com

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Revelers participate in the traditional Bloco da Lama (Mud block) carnival in Parati, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil, on February 9, 2013. The event, which was begun by two men in a playful manner in 1986, has now become a traditional carnival in which participants disguised as primitives with rags, lianas or skulls and bones, dive in the mud.

Revelers participate in the traditional Bloco da Lama (Mud block) carnival in Parati, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil, on February 9, 2013. The event, which was begun by two men in a playful manner in 1986, has ... more

A Bahraini girl holds up a picture of her relative detainee during an anti-government rally to demand reforms on February 9, 2013 in the village of Al Muqsha, west of the Bahraini capital Manama. Bahrain's national dialogue is set to resume on February 10, in an atmosphere of mutual mistrust between government and the opposition ahead of the second anniversary of a Shiite-led uprising that shook the Gulf kingdom. less

A Bahraini girl holds up a picture of her relative detainee during an anti-government rally to demand reforms on February 9, 2013 in the village of Al Muqsha, west of the Bahraini capital Manama. Bahrain's ... more

Photo: Mohammed Al-shaikh, AFP/Getty Images

A Bahraini girl holds up a picture of her relative detainee during... Photo-4167809.56544 - seattlepi.com

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An Iraqi model is made up backstage before a show during a hairdressers and make up artists festival on February 9, 2013 in Baghdad. It is the first time that this kind of festival takes place in the Iraqi capital since 1999. less

An Iraqi model is made up backstage before a show during a hairdressers and make up artists festival on February 9, 2013 in Baghdad. It is the first time that this kind of festival takes place in the Iraqi ... more

Photo: Patrick Baz, AFP/Getty Images

An Iraqi model is made up backstage before a show during a... Photo-4167820.56544 - seattlepi.com

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Chinese folk artists prepare to perform during the opening ceremony of the Spring Festival Temple Fair at Dragon Lake Park on February 9, 2013 in Beijing, China.The Chinese Lunar New Year of Snake also known as the Spring Festival, which is based on the Lunisolar Chinese calendar, is celebrated from the first day of the first month of the lunar year and ends with Lantern Festival on the Fifteenth day. less

Chinese folk artists prepare to perform during the opening ceremony of the Spring Festival Temple Fair at Dragon Lake Park on February 9, 2013 in Beijing, China.The Chinese Lunar New Year of Snake also known as ... more

Egyptian protesters throw fire bombs and stones at the presidential palace during a demonstration in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Feb. 8, 2013. Egypt has witnessed a fresh cycle of violence over the past two weeks since the second anniversary of the 2011 uprising that deposed longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak with clashes across the country that have left scores dead and hundreds injured. less

Egyptian protesters throw fire bombs and stones at the presidential palace during a demonstration in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Feb. 8, 2013. Egypt has witnessed a fresh cycle of violence over the past two weeks ... more